


The Odyssey: A Retelling

by Storms_Heart



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Death, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Really guys thats a tag, Space Opera, i don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 20:29:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7135961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storms_Heart/pseuds/Storms_Heart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A retelling of a classic story if it were set in space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Odyssey: A Retelling

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first work posted on AO3! This was for one of my finals, but I wrote this last minute so it might not be so good...  
> Well, in any case, I hope you enjoy it!

**The Lotus Eaters**

 Odysseus grinned, looking at his crew rejoicing in finding more civilized people. It had been years since they had met someone who wasn’t trying to kill them. Finding a ship with its crew still aboard had been a stroke of luck. After the Najort War it had all gone into a black hole- literally, once- so even though their new friends only had a broken ship that had been drifting aimlessly through space, things seemed to be getting better.  
“Ody!”  
Odysseus turned his head and saw one of his crew, Edolas, stumbling drunkenly up to him.  
“Ody!” Edolas yelled, trying to be heard over the music and laughter. “You have got to try this Lotus thing! The other crew had it and it’s crash!”  
Rolling his eyes, Odysseus took the treat Edolas offered him. The small flower gleamed brightly in the red emergency lights.

  
“I never want to go home!” Someone exclaimed.  
Odysseus looked up to his the crew member who had said that, discovering- to his surprise- that it had been Gray who shouted. Gray, who had a wife he loved and kid he had never seen at home. Who sulked every time someone mentioned the possibility of not getting home. Perhaps his drink had been getting to him?  
Odysseus glanced back down at the innocent red and white flower in his hand, noting the same flower- half eaten- in gray’s hand.

Gray didn’t drink.

 Dread gripped his heart, suddenly remembering Allycs and Sidby, twins who had offered them refuge on their small planet only to stab most of his men in the back and eat them. Ecric, a cyborg who had captured several of his crew and turned them into half machine menaces. The Senocic, a tribe supposedly living by a code of honor who promised them a way back to their home space station of Acahti, only to try and sacrifice them. Ospylac, a vagabond mechanic who “knew the whole world” and told them a way home- a way that sent them straight into a black hole. And Sneris, a princess who sent her father’s armies after them. Each had worn a pretense of safety and respite. Each time his crew had been halved- his once mighty fleet of high tech siege ships now a single command ship.

Maybe his fear was irrational. Maybe his paranoia had finally bested him.

Odysseus looked at the brightly colored flower a little longer. Why did the crew have them? Why did they insist on partying first, when they could’ve repaired their ship? Why did they refuse to repair their ship in the first place, when they clearly had the parts they needed?

Finally, Odysseus looked up at the scene around him and discovered that he wasn’t the only one hesitating to join the festivities. Several of his crew were in a similar position, holding a lotus flower and glancing to it and to their friends skeptically. A few looked to him, as if for permission.

Paranoia and irrational fear had kept him and his crew- most of his crew- alive so far.

Odysseus threw the flower to the ground and marched over to where Edolas had stumbled off to.  
“Edolas! We’re leaving!” He commanded.  
Edolas spun around to face him, and then stumbled at the quick motion. “Leave? Why? Things are jus’ getting started!” He slurred.  
Odysseus grabbed his shoulder, ready to drag him and the rest of the crew back to the command ship. “We’re leaving!” He announced.  
Then Edolas punched him.

Odysseus was thrown back and fell to the floor, shocked.  
  
_Edolas… punched me?_  
  
“No! We’re not going!”  
Head spinning, he stumbled back to his feet and wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth. The party had stopped, the people who had eaten the lotus on one side of the room, Odysseus and the rest on the other.  
“Odysseus…”  
“I know,” He said. “We’re leaving.”  
“But-”  
“We’re leaving.”

  
Odysseus and the rest of his crew slowly back away, heading towards the teleporters that would allow them to get back to their ship.

“You’re not leaving.” The captain of the Lotus eaters said.  
The lotus eaters jumped into action, running at them armed with blasters. Odysseus and his crew turned and hightailed it back, runninging through the wide and twisting corridors of the ship. In the corner of his eyes, Odysseus saw several of his crew fall to lasers.  
  
 They reached the teleporters just as the lotus eaters turned the corner and they quickly beamed themselves back on the ship.  
A few collapsed from exhaustion and relief. Odysseus grit his teeth- at least ten of his crew had eaten the lotus and more had fallen during the chase. More of his crew that wouldn’t be returning home.  
  


* * *

**The Cyclops**

  
 Staring at the wreckage of their last ship, Odysseus thought that maybe they should’ve stayed with the lotus eaters. Then they wouldn’t have crashed on a deserted island on a deserted planet in the middle of another unknown galaxy. Then again, he probably would’ve lost more of his crew to the lotus.  
  
 Odysseus turned and looked at the island- rolling hills painted with trees. It looked nothing like the space station he called home.  
He stepped forward- ready to explore the island that would likely take more of his crew to the grave- and then stepped on a shell.  
Crack!  
At least he hoped it was a shell. If it was any kind of bone Odysseus would… well he didn’t know what he would do. Not anything good.  
Slowly, he lifted his foot off what he had stepped on. On the ground were fragments of what looked to be a human skull.  
He gave the island a closer look, more skeletons lay on the beach, some holding blasters or armor. Beside some of them were broken down military bots- machines programmed for war.

Odysseus had a bad feeling about this island.  
  
  
  


 A fire breathing shrike and a evil turtle with mind control powers later, Odysseus knew he had been right. He also knew he probably should’ve stayed on Acahti space station instead of going off to fight in the Najort War. Honestly, Achilles had refused to go. If the so called “Greatest Exo Warrior of Eceerg” refused to join a war, why the phantom zone did Odysseus want to go?  
“At least it can’t get any worse!” Erza said.  
Odysseus stopped in his tracks, feeling a headache coming on.  
“That’s it!” Zeref shouted. “We’re going to die!”  
“We’re not going to die-” Jellal started.  
“Nope! Death is going to rain down upon us in the form of a talking apple with a Old English accent!”  
“...Talking apple?” Erza asked.  
“Old English accent?” Zeref questioned.  
“It could happen!”  
Odysseus suddenly felt glad he had left Mira and Natsu back at the wreckage. If they had joined this ridiculous conversation…  
What was that?  
“No it-”  
“Quiet!” Odysseus hissed. In the distance, there was a sound. A familiar sound, almost like…  
Military bots.  
His blood went cold. If there were any military bots that were even semi-functional… they wouldn’t survive this.  
And it was getting closer.

Suddenly a giant military bot charged out of the trees, roaring through metal jaws. It stopped right in front of them- a large bot that was heavily damaged. Patches of its armor was missing and it only had a single red eye. On its chest plate was its type and number.

_Spolcyc- 5525_

“It just got worse.” Erza said  
The bot raised its arm, aiming directly at Odysseus.  
“ASSAULT MODE: ACTIVATED. WEAPONS SYSTEMS: ACTIVATED. TARGET: LOCKED ON. EXTERMINATE!”  
A bright red beam exploded from the military bot’s arm, heading towards Odysseus.  
He jumped out of the way, quickly taking aim with his own blaster and firing back. The beam glanced off the bot’s armor and disappeared into the trees.  
“That’s not gonna do much!” Jellal shouted, ducking behind conveniently placed rocks. “Thanks, Miss Author!”  
“Jellal! Stop talking to yourself and fight!” Zeref yelled.  
The military bot turned and faced Erza, swinging a large sword from its damaged arm.  
“Where did it get a sword?!”  
From behind his rocks, Jellal cursed. “Why, Miss Author! I thought you liked us!”  
“Jellal!”

Odysseus grit his teeth. He would not lose another member of his crew! He reloaded his blaster and shot off another round at its exposed back.  
The bot, though damaged, moved fast and dodged the beam as though it could see it. The beam continued on, traveling for a split second more- before burying itself in Erza’s head.  
“No!” Odysseus cried.

The bot turned to face Jellal this time and raised its sword as Jellal fired his own blaster at it. It brought its sword down on Jellal and he shrieked. Odysseus screamed in fury and jumped forward, launching himself onto the bot. He slammed his blaster into the bot’s remaining eyes and pulled the trigger- sending several beams into the main mass of wires.  
Odysseus jumped off the bot as it shuddered and fell to the ground.

For a moment, Zeref and Odysseus stared at the bot, decidedly not looking at their fallen crew mates. Finally, with a hoarse toneless voice, Odysseus spoke up.  
“We can probably salvage it and repair the ship.”  
Zeref only nodded wordlessly.

 

* * *

 

 

**Land of the Dead**

Traveling through light speed to Yort- the capital space station of Ailotana- Odysseus had his whole fleet behind him. After the Najort War they had been a little worse for wear and feeling the losses of some of their comrades, but they celebrated what their sacrifice had won them and they still had many. Now, after several years of wandering, Odysseus was the last one.

He lay slumped against what used to be his captain’s chair, staring at the body of Zeref- who used to be his last crew member. Now he joined the ranks of the dead.  
Zeref had been alive when they teleported onto the ship after running from the two-faced Suloea. Most likely he had hit and cracked his skull when they ship shuddered its way into light speed.

That had been about an hour ago, after realizing his only comrade had died Odysseus had slumped to the ground. Finally beaten.  
The ship aimlessly drifted through whatever part of space it was in, often shuddering and rocking with lights blinking on and off. It was in its death throes.

Odysseus just continued staring. What was the use of piloting the ship? He didn’t know where in space he was and even if he did he doubted the ship could limp along all the way back home to Acahti. It barely had any of its original parts. It was a miracle that it was even holding together.  
As if knowing what he was thinking, the ship started to shudder harder as if it were in a field of space junk. Alarms started to blare loudly. Odysseus shut his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable breaking up of the ship.  
Was this his fate?

The ship continued to shudder. Then… then it started to pick up speed.

Odysseus opened his eyes, disbelieving of what he was feeling.  
There was no way…  
Around him things started to float up as if the artificial gravity had been turned off. Even his body started to feel lighter. Odysseus turned his eyes to the front and his breath caught in his throat.

Just outside the window… was a black hole.

The waves in it spun as it slowly sucked in everything around it. Even light was getting pulled in.  
And so was his ship.  
Rocking and shuddering, just as it was when Ospylac had tricked him, it was getting sucked in. It was slowly gaining speed as it entered. Debris, meteors, and all kinds of space junk swirled around him in one of space’s whirlpools. They collided with the ship and sent it spiraling deeper in the black hole. The light trapped in it danced with the waves and lit up his ship. It revealed every bit of damage in the ship, shining over Zeref’s body in multiple colors. Every bit of damage and… Perimedes.

Perimedes, his closest friend who had died when the Najort War was still young.

Perimedes grinned.  
“Nice to see you too, Ody.”  
Odysseus didn’t even bother grinning or gaping in wonder. This was a hallucination.  
“What? No ‘hello you’re supposed to be dead’?” He asked, still grinning. “Well it’s nice to see you too!”  
When Odysseus still didn’t respond, he started to frown.  
“I guess you don’t have much to smile about- and I’m not about to make anything better. Unfortunately.”  
“I’m here for a reason, you see. I’m here to tell you that you still have much hardship to face before you can go home.”  
Much hardship? More?  
“It’s not fair, I know, but that’s the way the ship is built.”  
Perimedes paused, then grinned again. “But you’re closer to home than you think. You just need to fight on a bit longer. And you won’t fight alone.”  
A sudden flash of brilliant light burned into the whole control room. In that split second he saw his crew- grinning faces holding their blasters up in salute, as they did when he rallied them before the first battle of the Najort War.  
“We’ll be with you.”

Then his ship was plunged into darkness as it was tossed out the other end of the black hole.  
Even with the debris cluttering around the ship he could see. He gasped. In front of him was the wreckage of Yort.

He knew where he was. And more importantly, he knew his way home.

Odysseus smiled and stood, looking around the wreckage of his own ship. He took stock of what need the most repairs and the tools he had.  
If he worked hard enough… he could fix it. He could get home.

In the back of his mind, he heard his crew rallying around him.

**Author's Note:**

> And for those of you that might have noticed, yes those are characters from Fairy Tail. My unoriginal characters there. Because I couldn't come up with any names.


End file.
